Mixing a Clean Guitar with Strip V3
The all-in-one channel strip plugin Strip V3 gives you everything you need to craft a great guitar sound. We’re going to start off with a more or less ideal DI recording of a clean electric guitar, and then use Strip’s EQ, compressor, and expander to give it the tonal...
Drum Bus Compression with C165a
Since the C165a compressor has just been ported to the native AAX-format on Windows and MacOS, it seems like a perfect opportunity to take a closer look at this fine plugin again! Modeled after a very popular VCA compressor from the 1970s, the C165a is, like the...
Natural Drums has changed dress
New look for Natural Drums! Writing a phrase should be easy-peasy: Select the drum kit -> Set accents through the list selector -> Listen -> Enjoy! Here's another sample mp3 wav ...
Natural Stereo Guitar with ThreeD
In this tutorial, we will use ThreeD to give a mono guitar some nice and natural stereo width. There are certain instruments that are typically recorded in mono, and the guitar is one of those. A common technique to achieve a big, wide sound is to record two takes of...
Going Wild with Bus
Simulating four of the most sought after bus compressors ever made, Bus is ideal for gluing subgroups and full mixes together. In such a scenario, we would usually play it safe – use a moderate ratio, and aim for only a couple of dB gain reduction. But what if we...
Natural Drums Audio Demo
Hi there, let's take a listen to the last transcribed style. A funk based track with a slow trip-hop groove: regular kick on 1/1 and 3/3 hi-hat and ride variations occasional charleston openings/closures snare backbeat Swing selector set to less than half...
AVE – Analog Vocal Enhancer – An example of analog processing on back vocals – Air and Width
A good example of the effects AVE (Analog Vocal Enhancer) offers on mono (to stereo) or stereo tracks. Processing of backing vocals. Dolby_A-style (*) processing to add air (left section of AVE), slight pitch-shifting and delay to add stereo width (right section)....
Sound Design with DDD and Necklace
Today it’s time for some creativity. That is, there will be no audio related problem solving, and no actual mixing, but instead: sound design! The tools of the trade are the super-lush DDD chorus plugin as well as the physically modeled Necklace spring reverb. We’re...
Warm Synth Sounds with Presence
Being a multimode exciter, Presence analyses the incoming signal and dynamically adds new content to the frequency spectrum, that wasn’t there before. Thus, whenever you think that an instrument or even a whole mix lacks that little bit of strength, weight, or...
Finalizing a Mix with Cuttertone
Today we're going to be looking at a plugin which, for some indefinite reason, we haven't actually featured on our blog at all yet: Cuttertone. We want to make up for that and show you exactly what this plugin does and why it can be an invaluable tool for mixing and...
DolA VST/AU/AAX-DSP – An old secret trick, get air for your tracks.
DolA is an old "secret trick". A noise reduction system, hacked and abused to get a beautiful high frequency enhancement. VST and AU for Windows and Mac, 32 and 64 bit systems. AAX-Native and AAX-DSP for Avid HDX systems and Venue consoles (for Venue installer:...
EchoTaps Delay VST/AU/AAX-DSP – History of Delay.
EchoTaps is a Delay with a load of features. Available as AAX-Native-DSP for Avid Pro Tools, HDX systems and Venue consoles, VST/AU 32/64 bit for all compatible hosts on Windows and Mac systems. Several models span history of delays: Oil Can (the weirdest). Tape....
Modern Hi-fi Drums with SDC
In the last session, we used the GTS-39 compressor to push a raw and heavy Drum’n’Bass drum loop to the limit. In this tutorial, however, we’ll do kind of the opposite, and treat a modern sounding drum track with some carefully adjusted compression – so that it sounds...
Raw and Heavy Drum’n’Bass Drums with GTS-39
In this tutorial we’re going to beef up a drum track with some serious compression. It’s a pretty old-school Drum’n’Bass-type loop, which might have a somewhat raw and unpolished sound, but also lots of character to it. Hence, the GTS-39 compressor plugin surely is...
Using SoundBrigade as a Multi-Purpose Mixing Tool
If you’re familiar with SoundBrigade or have read some of our previous tutorials on it on our blog, you might already know that it can be a very valuable tool in all different kinds of mixing scenarios, thanks to its five missions. Whether you need to tackle critical...
Mixing Vocals with Strip V3
Unless one is dealing with a purely instrumental song, the voice of the singer is arguably the most important element in a mix. In this second tutorial on Strip V3 we’re going to give a nice vocal track a last treatment so that it can really shine in the end! Let’s...
Strip V3 Audio Demo Showcase
Below you will find some audio demo tracks which demonstrate the versatility and capabilities of the new Strip V3. Each demo comes in two versions: one dry and one wet one, with Strip V3 disabled or enabled respectively. Except for the Strip V3 plugin, the processing...
Mixing Synthie Pop with Strip V3
Christmas comes early this year as the long-awaited V3 update of the ever-popular mixing plugin Sknote Strip is finally here! At its heart, Strip is still a virtual channel strip, which emulates the workflow, feel, and sound of several analog mixing consoles. The...
Strip – Instructions
Strip is a console modeling effect and a channel strip with several unique features. Several models are available. Each model contains different features and is designed by analyzing vintage and modern channels. An unique feature of Strip is how a whole model is...
Strip – Console Emulation and Channel Strip
Strip is a Console Emulation and Channel Strip. Main features: Console emulation. Several models included, designed by analysing modern and vintage channels. Crosstalk and ducking. Instances interact in background, they actually are an overall unique analog model....
Wide Stereo Drums with Xtrim
As a toolbox with various kinds of useful, er, tools, Xtrim can really save you some time during the mixing process: use its hi and lo pass filters to roll off unwanted frequencies; enhance the side portion of a stereo signal a bit; fix timing issues between left and...
Mastering a Song with Bus
Bus is the sister plugin of the ever popular Strip, and while the latter can sit happily on every channel of your mix, the best place for the former is – you guessed it – on a bus. Don’t let the relatively simple GUI fool you: Bus is really a powerhouse, which gives...
Mixing Metal Drums with Grasso
Compression? Yes. Expansion? Definitely. Equalization and transient manipulation? Double check. Saturation? You bet. In short: Grasso is really a powerhouse when it comes to shaping the dynamics of an audio signal and giving it a nice, analog feel. In this episode, we...
Disto Preset Series: Guitar & Bass
No matter what type of guitar or bass you're currently working on, the following presets for Disto have got you covered! Please make sure you have the latest version of Disto installed (downloadable from your user area). Simply copy the text to your computer's...
Disto Preset Series: Synths, Keys & Strings
From strong basses to fat leads as well as wide and warm keys - use the following presets to spice up your tracks with Disto. Please make sure you have the latest version of Disto installed (downloadable from your user area). Simply copy the text to your computer's...
Disto Preset Series: Drums
Explore Disto's great capabilities as a drum compressor with the following presets. Please make sure you have the latest version of Disto installed (downloadable from your user area). Simply copy the text to your computer's clipboard by "right-clicking/copy" or...
Disto – New copy and paste sharing system for presets
A great new feature for Disto: sharing presets through plain text. Copy all the settings by pressing a button, paste them as plain text in a forum or email or whatever. Copy the text from a post, an email or whatever, paste it in Disto to get it instantly configured...
Using SoundBrigade as a De-Esser
Dealing with sibilance is probably one of the most frustrating tasks when it comes down to mixing vocals. Even the most perfect singers in the world sometimes can’t help but overemphasize those nasty “ess” and “shh” sounds, making an otherwise gorgeous take hard to...
Parallel Mastering with Disto V2
Please note: You will need the latest version of Disto for this tutorial. If you haven’t updated to V2 yet, please download it from your user area first. One of the coolest new features in Disto V2 is definitely the dry/wet-control, adjustable via the middle knob on...
Exciting EDM/Moombahcore with Presence
Among compression, equalizing, imaging, and limiting exciting is one of the key factors when polishing a mix in the master stage. By emphasizing (or attenuating) the harmonic content in different frequency ranges one can add that little bit of 'magic' that can make a...
Warm Rock Vocals with Verbtone
Reverb can be an important element of a mix – even (or especially) when it isn’t instantly noticeable. In fact, only a little bit of reverb, applied to the right instruments, can already make a difference between a seemingly lifeless and sterile and a natural and...
Stereo Exploration with ThreeD
Please note: In order to hear all of the following stereo processing correctly make sure to use headphones or (studio) monitors. There are plenty ways to expand or enhance the stereo image of an audio signal. And there are plenty tools that provide you with one of...
Oldschool Techno with Roundtone
Digital audio is often said to be too clear, sterile, almost. While this may definitely have its advantages and make life easier in quite a few ways, many people still miss the warmth and musical imperfections of analog recordings. Luckily we can re-create these...
Lush 80s Guitars with DDD
When one thinks 80s and rock music there are a couple of things that immediately come to mind. The first may be the infamous gated snare drum with its huge reverb on it. But then it would definitely be the super wide, super thick guitar sounds, too! Those were...
Disto – New v.2 – Description and details.
This new v.2 is a main upgrade. A whole new model has been implemented, to satisfy all the users asking for a more faithful behaviour,mainly for light compression. It also adds a lot of colors to the palette. Compatibility: if you replave v.1 with v.2 and open an old...
Synth Arp Variations with PolyJam
Originally designed for breathing life into dull drum loops, PolyJam can also be used on totally different material, like a simple synth sound for instance, with equally impressive results, that is! Not convinced, yet? Well, then let’s get to work! Here’s our example...
New York-Style Mastering with STA-Limit
So called New York- or parallel-compression is a very popular technique in mixing and mastering alike. The idea behind this concept is simple, yet effective: Instead of processing the complete audio signal at once, it is divided into one dry and one (heavily)...
Why Verbtone is so great for “Rooms” – Test on drums
Verbtone is a physical model of a plate reverb. Physical modeling means that the processing is designed starting from physical laws to get a behavior and a sound resembling the real thing. Main advantages are realism and the sound that, in this case, doesn't contain...
Processing Electronic Drums with Mattertone
Being a multiband envelope shaper, Mattertone is ideal for treating drums, be it independently or in a complete loop. The latter is precisely what we will do in this tutorial, so let’s get going! Here’s our example track: We will now use the plugin to emphasize both...
Cuttertone – Vinyl cutting pre-processor – Mastering effect or mixing tool.
Stereo. Low frequency width. Acceleration limiter. Dynamics control. Mid/Side balance. Light on CPU Latency-free NEW preset management (through-clipboard, copy/paste between instances) NEW AAX_DSP included! low frequencies stereo width (tunable) Freq: select the cross...